Instagram to add a shopping channel in the explore tab

Instagram takes yet another leap towards social commerce by adding a Instagram Shopping Channel in the explore tab.

The Instagram shopping channel would show a selection of products from diverse sellers available on the platform. This might accompany stories with shoppable tags. Instagram has been testing shoppable tags on Stories since June and now roles it out in 46 countries.

"Now when you’re watching behind-the-scenes Stories from your favorite brands and see something you love, you can quickly tap on a product to learn more," Instagram said in the official blog post.

It’s not sure what the relevance of the products shown in this feed would be based on. It could be similar to the relevance on the current explore page which is based on the pages you follow and engage with the most.

Also Read: Engagement with brands is 10 times higher on Instagram than Facebook: Vidooly

There had been speculation around Instagram testing a stand-alone shopping app, however, the shopping channel comes close on the heels of hobby based channels in the explore tab.

Additionally, including it as a feature on the pioneer app makes more sense because probably people wouldn’t download an online shopping app just because it’s Instagram’s shopping app with major players like Flipkart and Amazon already having acquired majority of the market share.

Adding a shopping tab on the app itself seems more coherent as businesses on the app are already booming and with masses following these businesses and major brands promoting their products, the new feature might bridge the gap of easy shopping and fulfill Instagram’s purpose of monetizing the platform.